Wild animals—some cute, some scary—are trying to reclaim the city

Beavers are waddling across Queens Quay, raccoons are riding the subway and bald eagles are nesting here for the first time in recorded history. Animal-related incidents rose by 13 per cent last year, prompting city staff to push for a new $1.4-million wildlife response team. Its year-round job would be to handle potentially dangerous encounters (we’re looking at you, coyotes). But the spike is also encouraging. Animals are staking a claim to Toronto because of decades-long environmental reclamation initiatives, including fortified shorelines, restored meadows and wetlands for indigenous species, and one of the most robust urban forests in the world. It’s a jungle out there, in a good way.

Related: Coyotes killed her dog. Now she wants them gone